Things About Examination of Infectious Diseases You Need to Know

Infectious disease is a condition that arises due to invading microorganisms, such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. The right diagnosis can provide information about the type and cause of infection, so that the treatment given can run effectively. Various microorganisms can live in the human body, and are generally harmless, or sometimes even can provide benefits. However, under certain conditions, these microorganisms can interfere with bodily functions by causing certain diseases. Not only caused by microorganisms that settle in the human body, an infectious disease can also arise due to transmission by sufferers of the disease. This transmission can occur through direct contact or through intermediary media, such as contaminated food, air, water, or blood. In addition, infectious diseases can also be transmitted from animals or insects.

Indications for Infectious Disease Examination

Examination of infectious diseases will be carried out by doctors on patients who experience symptoms. The following are some of the symptoms that are generally markers of infection:

• Fever
• Cough
• Muscle ache
• Limp
• Diarrhea

If you experience the above symptoms, it is recommended to see a doctor and undergo the recommended examination. Even more so if:

• You were previously bitten by an animal or an insect
• Accompanied by the appearance of rashes or swelling on the skin
• Accompanied by sudden visual disturbances
• Fever that lasts a long time
• Accompanied by shortness of breath
• Accompanied by coughing that lasts more than 1 week
• Accompanied by severe headaches

Warning for Infectious Disease Examination

There is no obstacle for someone to undergo an examination of infectious diseases. However, this procedure can involve taking a blood sample using a needle. Therefore, for patients who are taking blood-thinning medications, doctors will be asked to stop taking these drugs for a while. In addition, for patients who suffer from blood clotting abnormalities, must notify the condition to the doctor before undergoing an examination of infectious diseases.

Examination of infectious diseases

Examination of infectious diseases begins with the doctor studying the symptoms present in the patient. Pain can be an important clue about the source of infection in the patient's body. In addition, rashes, coughs, colds, nasal congestion, and diarrhea, also help doctors diagnose. In addition to studying the symptoms, the doctor will also review the patient's medical history. Among them:

• Diseases that have suffered by patients.
• The health condition of the patient's family at home and his close friends.
• Procedures that have been undertaken by patients, such as surgery or organ transplants, because this can be a means of infection.
• A history of immunization and the use of drugs that can affect a patient's immune system conditions, such as corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs.

After that, if necessary, a supporting examination will be carried out. This examination is done by taking samples to be tested in the laboratory. The samples used are generally taken from:

• Blood
• Urine
• Feces
• Saliva
• Mucous throat
• Sputum
• Brain and cerebrosipinal fluid
• Body tissue sample

The following are some examples of investigations that can be recommended by doctors to determine the cause of infection:

• Smears Gram bacteria.

Microscopy examination is done to detect the presence of bacteria and determine the type of bacteria, Gram positive or negative, because it will determine the treatment.

• Microbial culture.

Samples that have been taken from patients will be cultured in a laboratory using a special culture medium to identify microbes that cause infectious diseases more specifically. The process of microbial culture can take several days to weeks, depending on the level of difficulty of bacteria to be grown in the laboratory. Some types of bacteria even can not be grown in the laboratory at all, such as the bacteria that causes syphilis (Treponema pallidum), so that requires another diagnostic method to identify the disease.

• Antibody test.

An antibody test is carried out to detect specific antibodies that react to microbes that cause infection. Antibody tests generally use blood samples, but can also use samples from other body fluids, such as cerebrospinal fluid. The role of antibodies is to detect microbes that cause infection, because antibodies will only react specifically to one type of microbe only if an infection occurs. Therefore, the presence of antibodies will be a sign that the patient has been exposed to these microbial infections and provides an immune response. However, the weakness of this test is that antibodies remain in the immune system even though the microbes that cause infection are no longer present in the body.

• Antigen test.

Antigens are parts of microbes that can trigger an immune system response in the body, by reacting to antibodies. In other words, the presence of microbes can be identified by detecting antigens. This test can be used to determine the cause of infection that cannot be done by microbial culture methods. For example, syphilis bacteria or viruses. Antigens are generally obtained from blood samples which are then reacted with specific antibodies to identify the type of antigen that causes infection in patients.

• Antimicrobial resistance test.

Tests are carried out to find out which antimicrobial drugs are most effective in treating infections, and to find out if the infecting microbes already have resistance or resistance to the drugs to be used. Antimicrobial resistance tests are also carried out by conducting microbial culture, then adding the type of antimicrobial drug to be used. The results of this test can be a consideration for doctors to determine which drugs will be given to patients.

• Microbial genetic testing.

This test is done by detecting the presence of DNA or RNA that belongs to specific microbes that cause infection. This test can give more accurate and faster results compared to microbial culture, because it does not have to wait for microbes to grow first.

In addition to the above examination methods, patients can also undergo other supporting tests as a support to provide a more accurate diagnosis. Examples are X-ray, MRI, CT scan, and biopsy.

After examination of infectious diseases

The results of examination of infectious diseases will come out within a few days or weeks, and will be given to the doctor at the time of the consultation. The doctor will explain the type of infectious disease that is being suffered by the patient, and the medication that must be used. Example:

• Antibiotics.

Antibiotics will be given by the doctor to the patient if the patient suffers from a bacterial infection. The doctor will give detailed instructions for using antibiotics to the patient.

• Antiviral.

Antivirals will be given by doctors to patients if they have a viral infection, for example Herpes, HIV / AIDS, or hepatitis.

• Antifungal.

Antifungal will be given by a doctor if the patient suffers from a yeast infection, both in the external organs or internal organs. For more serious fungal infections, it usually must be treated with antifungals in the form of injections.

• Antiparasitic.

Antiparasites will be given by doctors to patients if they suffer from parasitic infections, for example malaria.

In addition to these drugs, patients can do a number of things to help relieve symptoms of infectious diseases. If you have a fever or chills, the patient should increase the amount of water you drink in a day and rest more. Patients are also encouraged to eat foods and fruits that contain lots of vitamins in order to help the healing process. The doctor will tell you what foods should be increased in number, and what must be avoided so that the condition does not get worse.

Risk of Infectious Disease Examination

Infectious disease testing is a very safe procedure to undergo, and rarely causes complications. For examination procedures that involve blood sampling, the risks that can occur are:

• Bleeding
• Infection
• Rash
• Pain
• Bruises
• Passed out